Summer Internships for High School Students

Summer Internships for High School Students When teens get to college, something theyll hear often from professors and the team at the college career center is how important it is to get work experience. Enter internships, which offer many important benefits: They give students practical experience in a field and an idea what a career in that field might be like. They offer students the opportunity to experience a professional workplace setting firsthand. They are the perfect test run for a career, giving students the chance to try out an industry or job type with minimal risk. They establish students connections with real-world professionals who could serve as mentors as they navigate their professional journeys. They help students build their resums and their skills. Getting an internship is a great ideabut are internships reserved for college students? Definitely not! There are many programs and options for motivated high school students. Internships are an ideal way for high school teens to get a head start on researching possible college majors and career pathsplus the experience looks awesome on a college application. Parents, here are some tips to offer your high schoolers as they engage in an internship search: Visit the guidance counselor. The guidance counselors office might have lists of internship opportunities and local resources for internships. High schoolers should stop by regularly and make sure theyre registered on any internship websites or email lists that the guidance counselor recommends. Check out nearby colleges. Colleges, universities and community colleges often have formal internship programs (many science related) for high school students. Colleges websites are a good place to start, and students can reach out to specific departments/programs as well. Some colleges and universities even invite students to live on campus for the summer. Two examples: Stanford Universitys Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Center Stanford Summer Internship exposes high school students to careers in science, medicine and public health. Boston Universitys Research in Science Engineering (RISE) program invites high school juniors to conduct scientific lab research. Make a list of companies. Because there are more internships available to college students, high school students need to be diligentand creative. Parents should encourage their teens to look not just for formal internship programs but also companies and organizations in their local area that interest them. High school students can approach organizations directly with a resum and a cover letter expressing their desire to gain professional experience (explaining their specific area of interest). Many companies might be willing to create an internship position for an ambitious teen. Create a resum. Speaking of resums, teens who are serious about finding internships definitely need resums along with cover letters that they can customize as they apply for (or inquire about) internships. The resum must include sections for education, GPA (unless the GPA is low, then omit it), interests/objective, any work experience and any special qualifications (e.g. communication skills or particular subject strengths). Look nationally. High school students looking for a transformative internship experience should consider big companies with reputable internship programs for high school students. Here are just a few examples: Microsoft has several summer high school internships. Bank of America offers a Student Leaders program that places students into internships. The Smithsonians Youth Engagement through Science internship program has several options for rising high school students in the Washington, D.C. metro area. NASA has several internship options for students in high school. There are lots of summer jobs out there for teens, but an internship will benefit your high school student tremendously. With college on the horizon, its not too early for your teen to think about creating an impressive, well-rounded application package. Combine a strong GPA and an academic record of challenging classes with a quality internship experience and your teen will definitely set himself apart.